columbia wrote:No one in NYC likes the Devils.And if they do, they're from Jersey.

No one from Jersey likes the Devils unless they hate both the Rangers and Flyers. It's a small market share.

This is good for the Isles though, good for the league. Another team that doesn't have to relocate on Bettman's watch, very positive from a league perspective. Maybe I ought to plan a trip up to the Mausoleum one last time.

Last edited by mikey287 on Wed Oct 24, 2012 7:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I think it's tremendous for the league.I've lived in Brooklyn and Queens and worked on LI* for a period of time....they have a real/serious fan base, who just desperately want to see a solid franchise.

* A much older co-worker was an Islanders STH from about 78-90. He had some great stories to tell.

The marriage between the Isles and Barclays Center will not work out well in the end. NHL hockey on a small floor (i.e., sized for basketball) was tried in the Phoenix Suns arena and after a few years the Coyotes pursued a new arena in Glendale.

There could be a solution involving a major arena renovation. It might be feasible to demolish the seating decks of one end zone (approximately 25% of total seating) and rebuild them to provide proper sightlines for hockey. To achieve NHL-NBA sized seating capacities, they would need to include a steep overhanging balcony similar to each of the ones in the endzones of the late Mellon Arena. Such a renovation would probably cost on the order of $100 million. However, that’s a lot cheaper than building another new arena in Queens or Nassau County. I expect the Isles will eventually demand such a renovation if it’s not being discussed now.

It’s just too bad the Barclays Center was not designed with a large floor for a potential hockey tenant.

Idoit40fans wrote:I've only been to New York a few times, it seemed very hipstery everywhere haha. Never went to brooklyn though, I guess I would have noticed a greater concentration.

It's basically the Wall Street of Indie Rock music and Culture magazines, that's probably applies to New York and Brooklyn. But Brooklyn is pretty exclusive to the Hipsters because that's where you go to live when you can't afford to drop over $1K a month in rent...atleast that's how I understand it.

Hipster jokes aside, this would be a huge mistake given the vast history of the franchise. If nothing else, it'll be widely panned and they'll return to their original color scheme. Learn from Buffalo.